Salvatore Ferragamo

Salvatore Ferragamo was born in the small village of Bonito, Italy, in 1898, where his boyhood fascination with shoes led to an apprenticeship with a local cobbler. At just 16 years of age, Ferragamo immigrated to the United States, where he soon joined his older brothers in running a shoe repair shop in Santa Barbara. By the mid-1920s, Ferragamo had become a sought-after shoe designer in Hollywood. Although he returned to Italy in 1927—this time settling in Florence—movie stars continued to wear Ferragamo’s designs. He became known as the “shoemaker to the stars,” and developed close relationships with style icons such as Greta Garbo and Marilyn Monroe.